18 September, 2016

US airstrikes kill 62 Syrian soldiers, injure over 100

The U.S. Air
Force bombed Syrian Arab Army's positions near the eastern city of
Deir ez-Zor, killing at least 62 soldiers and "paving the way"
for Islamic State group’s militants, Russian Defense Ministry
reported.

"Today
62 soldiers were killed and over 100 injured in the airstrike by the
US-led coalition," Russia’s Defense Ministry spokesman
Major-General Igor Konashenkov said citing information received by
Syrian military deployed in the region.

Konashenkov
stressed that right after the attack, “terrorists” launched an
offensive against Syrian troops. He added that aircraft entered to
Syrian airspace via Iraq.

“If the
airstrike was caused by the wrong coordinates of targets than it’s
a direct consequence of the stubborn unwillingness of the American
side to coordinate with Russia in its actions against terrorist
groups in Syria,” Konashenkov added.

Sputnik
reports that the Syrian Army considers the attack a “serious and
blatant aggression” that provides "conclusive evidence"
that the U.S. and its allies support the Islamic State group.

This would
be the second time during this war that the United States has
attacked the Syrian army in the Deir Ezzor, a fact that Syrian army
said has facilitated the advancement of the extremists militias.

Russia also
denounced earlier on Saturday Washington's refusal to take measures
to force rebels under its control to fall in line with the terms of
the Syrian cease-fire.